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AUSTIN CITY GAZETTE

AUSTIN CITY GAZETTE. The Austin City Gazette, the first newspaper published in Austin, made its initial appearance on October 30, 1839, under the direction of Samuel Whiting, with Joel Miner heading the typographical department. The four-page paper appeared each Wednesday, at a subscription price of five dollars a year. It supported the development of agriculture in Texas. In January 1840 George K. Teulon became the editor; Whiting, however, continued as owner and publisher. From January 1840 until March 1842 the paper was publisher to the Texas Congress; 50 percent of its space was occupied with the proceedings of Congress, laws, presidential decrees, and other governmental matters. The paper also carried local news, national news, foreign (including United States) news, one or two columns of editorials, letters to the editor, and, usually, a page or a page and a half of advertising. Fiction, poetry, and essays, usually reprinted from other journals, sometimes appeared. At first the Gazette was for Mirabeau B. Lamar in its editorial policy, but about the time Teulon assumed the editorship, it became anti-Lamar and supported the policies of Sam Houston. It suspended publication in March 1842 because of the threatened Mexican invasion of Austin, but scattered issues appeared until August 17, 1842. The paper was later continued by the Austin Western Advocate. The Texas State Library holds a run from October 30, 1839, to March 2, 1842.

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